Next Tuesday is a special day for me- its my second Anniversary of Ordination! As I complete my second year of Priesthood, I continue to be amazed by the ways in which the Lord has called me to serve and follow him. That call has certainly looked a lot different over the last year due to the pandemic, but it is still present!
The Lord calls all of us to serve him in various ways. Another way of saying that is that every single one of us has a vocation- a way that we are called to serve God and the Church by using the unique gifts and talents that God has blessed us with. For some, that vocation is their career path. For others, it may be a calling to marriage and family life. It may even be a call to service in the Church through Consecrated life or Ordained Ministry.
How do we know what our vocation is? The short answer is through prayer and discernment, which can take different forms for each person. Perhaps you may ask others what gifts and talents they see in you, and then take those to prayer, and ask God to show you how you can best use those gifts and talents to serve him. Or perhaps God has placed something on your heart that speaks to you when you are in prayer. Discernment helps us to listen to and make sense of those inner promptings of our heart.
Know that I’m always available to chat if you have questions about your own discernment, or your own call to vocation. And for those of you who may be considering a Vocation to the Priesthood, see our website for some information about an upcoming virtual discernment retreat that the Basilians are hosting on Zoom!
Fr. Steven
